Sallee: Georgia Is A Real Playoff Contender

Alabama has walloped its SEC-East opponent in the SEC Championship three years in a row.

That likely won’t be the case this season.

Yes, Alabama could win the SEC for the fifth time in six years, but it won’t be easy, especially if the Tide match up with Georgia in the SEC Championship. And the Bulldogs, make no mistake, are the SEC-East favorites.

“Oh yeah, I think so,” CBSSports.com college football writer Barrett Sallee said on CBS Sports Radio’s The DA Show. “I think they’re a playoff contender. I think their issues are overstated. Offensive line, I think they’re way more comfortable there than people realize, and from a wide receiver standpoint, they don’t have a go-to guy, but they’ve got seven or eight different weapons that all are different and can stress a defense no matter what they throw at it.”

Georgia went 8-5 in Kirby Smart’s first season, losing three games by a combined five points, including two (Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech) by a point. Sallee expects better from the Bulldogs in 2017.

“In the SEC-East, it’s going to be a year where just enough defense does an awful lot for you, and that defense is going to be really, really good,” he said. “If they can just score some points – and I think they will with all the weapons they have – they’re going to be just fine. But yeah, unless there’s massive injuries, that would be my pick.”

Georgia opens the season at home against Appalachian State on Sept. 2, before traveling to South Bend to take on Notre Dame on Sept. 9. Kickoff for each game is 6:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET, respectively.